Charlotte Eliza Humphry

01 January 1851 - 02 April 1925

Mrs C. E. Humphry , a journalist at a time when the field was just opening up to women, began her career with a popular newspaper column aimed at women. This chatty column appeared in the society scandal journal Truth, under the pseudonym Madge: she is considered one of the originators of the women's gossip column. Following the success of her column, she published further journalism, books on etiquette, running a household, and the rules of behaviour in polite society for both women and men, whose roles are sharply separated. Her advice had widespread public appeal.

BirthName: Charlotte Eliza Graham
Married: Mrs C. E. Humphry
Pseudonym: Madge

Milestones

1851

Charlotte Eliza Graham was born, most probably in the city of Derry or Londonderry in Northern Ireland, where her father was attached to the cathedral.

Kent, Sylvia. The Woman Writer: The History of the Society of Women Writers and Journalists. The History Press, 1 June 2013.

Probably well before December 1883

CEH had established a regular column titled Girl's Gossip under her pen name Madge for the widely-read and politically scandalous British weekly Truth.

“Our Christmas Letter”. Penny Illustrated Paper, No. 1173, 15 Dec. 1883, p. 370.

“’Truth’s’ Madge”. The Colac Herald (Vic. : 1875 - 1918), 4 Oct. 1901, p. 6.

1897

Later in the same year as her Manners for Men, Charlotte Eliza Humphry targeted her own sex in Manners for Women, another popular social etiquette and self-improvement guide.

OCLC WorldCat. 1992–1998, http://www.oclc.org/firstsearch/content/worldcat/. Accessed 1999.

1918

CEH published, with J. F. Shaw and Co. in London what appears to have been her last title, Points Worth Noting for Women. Two editions were called for, but it remains one of her more obscure works.

OCLC WorldCat. 1992–1998, http://www.oclc.org/firstsearch/content/worldcat/. Accessed 1999.

2 April 1925

Mrs. C. E. Humphry died in Waverley Place in St John's Wood, London.

“The Times Digital Archive 1785-2007”. Thompson Gale: The Times Digital Archive.

43928 (4 April 1925): 17

OCLC WorldCat. 1992–1998, http://www.oclc.org/firstsearch/content/worldcat/. Accessed 1999.

“Humphry, Mrs. C.E”. Who’s Who and Who Was Who, 6 Feb. 2015.

Biography

Birth and Background

1851

Charlotte Eliza Graham was born, most probably in the city of Derry or Londonderry in Northern Ireland, where her father was attached to the cathedral.

Kent, Sylvia. The Woman Writer: The History of the Society of Women Writers and Journalists. The History Press, 1 June 2013.